Ordinary diners who take part in our annual survey each spring review restaurants and leave their feedback, but we also ask them to score restaurants from 1-5 on food, service and ambience. Harden’s then uses an average of these scores and measures them against other establishments in the same price bracket to arrive at the ratings published in the guide and online.

Snippets from some of your feedback may end up in the overall Harden’s review, noticeably they appear in “double quotation marks”. The rest of our pithy, bite-sized restaurant summaries are compiled by analysing the survey data and extracting recurring themes, looking at whether or not a venue was nominated in any of our categories – like ‘favourite’ or ‘most overpriced’ – and, of course, looking at the ratings for food, service and ambience.

The Harden’s ratings indicate that a restaurant is:

exceptional very good good average poor

All reviews are compiled from survey comments and ratings, without any regard for our own personal opinions, except in cases where restaurants are too new to have been included in the survey. If you want the editors’ view on new restaurants in London you can find them in our Editors’ Review section.

Cail Bruich

British, Modern restaurant in Glasgow

Harden's
survey result

Summary

“Top-notch in every way, and a league apart from their competitors” is the general verdict on this West End venture from brothers Paul and Chris Charalambous (“a slightly more formal setting than you’d get in, say, trendy Finnieston”). “Flavours are bright and clear, in classical combinations showing off the largely Scottish produce, and the dishes as a whole all work extremely well”. It’s “not much to look at from the outside”, though, while the lighting inside is a bit dim “for the intricacy and delicacy of the plating, as well as for reading the menu!”

Price

£63

£££

Food

5

Exceptional

Service

4

Very Good

Ambience

3

Good

* Based on a three course dinner, half a bottle of wine, coffee, cover charge, service and VAT.

Summary

When it comes to “Scottish contemporary cooking at its best!”, some cognoscenti tip brothers Paul & Chris Charalambous’s West End venture as “the best fine-dining currently on offer in Glasgow”. “It’s not on one of the most prepossessing stretches of road (if you weren’t going here, you’d probably hurry past), but at night there’s a subdued warm glow from the dim-lit interior, which has a vaguely French brasserie-cum-bistro feel: a bit old-fashioned, but nice and comfortable, dimly lit and cosy”. The cuisine is “always inventive and majors on fresh local ingredients”, from a variety of set menus, including a tasting option.

Price

£63

£££

Food

5

Exceptional

Service

4

Very Good

Ambience

3

Good

* Based on a three course dinner, half a bottle of wine, coffee, cover charge, service and VAT.

Summary

Chris Charalambous’ ambitious West End venue continues to attract nothing but upbeat feedback. There is an à la carte, but the focus is on the “excellent” and “excellent value” tasting menus with “interesting wine pairings”.

Price

£54

££

Food

4

Very Good

Service

4

Very Good

Ambience

3

Good

* Based on a three course dinner, half a bottle of wine, coffee, cover charge, service and VAT.

For 28 years we've been curating reviews of the UK's most notable restaurant. This year diners have submitted over 50,000 reviews to create the most authoritative restaurant guide in the UK.

Have you eaten at Cail Bruich?

Owner's description

Our stylish restaurant & bar - in the heart of Glasgow’s vibrant West End - offers casual, modern Scottish dining and select drinks.

We passionately craft our menus with an appreciation of the finest ingredients and produce, all available from Scotland's outstanding natural larder.